


Through a Glass Darkly

by airamcg



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Gen, Prompt Fic, Prompt Fill
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-26
Updated: 2017-06-29
Packaged: 2018-11-19 07:51:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11308974
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/airamcg/pseuds/airamcg
Summary: 1. Lost In Space -- The Off Colors arrive on Earth2. Unbubbled -- Bismuth is unbubbled[ a collection of oneshots based on a prompt writing game from discord chat ]





	1. Lost In Space

**Author's Note:**

  * For [CompletelyDifferent](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CompletelyDifferent/gifts), [Swordaperson](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Swordaperson/gifts), [CoreyWW](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CoreyWW/gifts).



It took them a while— lots of plotting and planning and more than a few close shaves— but they finally made it.

Earth.

“We’re... here...” Fluorite happily announced as their stolen Roaming Eye came to a slow halt. 

The Rutiles jumped from their seat and headed for the largest viewing screen, Padparadscha smiling serenely in their arms. Rhodonite was equally excited, her upper arms flailing in joy, but she needed to stay in the pilot’s seat. Her lower set of hands were busy making some final adjustments to the ship’s approach trajectory. 

“This doesn’t look anything like Earth,” Lars said, peering out the window closest to him. “There’s too many asteroid things floating around. Are you sure you got the coordinates right, Rhodonite?”

“Of course I did,” she replied, pressing a few more buttons on the control panel. “I even had the twins triple check before I hit the gravity drive.”

“They’re the same coordinates Steven gave us a few days ago,” Righty said.

“He said they’re from Peridot,” said Lefty. “I’m sure they’re correct.”

Lars turned to the twins, an incredulous eyebrow raised. “I dunno about that. Peridot seems kinda unreliable.”

“Is this about the pine show in your entertainment screen?” Rhodonite asked curiously.

“It’s  _ Camp Pining Hearts, _ and YES!” he yelled, grabbing the tablet Steven gave him and then shaking it in front of himself as if to prove his point. “The other day, I specifically told her to put anything  _ except  _ that show, and yet she still used up all of my available space for the whole five seasons!”

“I like that show,” Lefty chimed in.

“Me too.” Righty grinned at her twin.

Suddenly Padparadscha started screaming, horrified.

“Some... thing’s... wrong...” said Fluorite.

Everyone gathered around Padparadscha, comforting her with hugs and assurances. 

“It’s okay, Paddy. We’re safe.”

“We’re okay, Padparadscha. We just got a little lost.”

“No! No no no no no no...” Padparadscha cried, clutching her head like she was in pain. “Not lost.”

“What do you mean?”

“A geoweapon... The Earth is going to be shattered!”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   
> 


	2. Unbubbled

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Content Warning:** sensory deprivation, hallucinations, not knowing what is and isn't real, suicide ideation

When Bismuth opens her eyes, the first thing she notices is that... there’s nothing to notice. Nobody greets her safe regeneration. No ambient noise from her surroundings, either. There’s no ground underneath her feet. Everything is immersed in darkness. She can’t even see her own hand in front of her face unless she lights up her gem, and when she tries to light up her surroundings...

Nothing.

She opens her mouth to speak, yell, cry, _anything_ — but either no sound leaves her lips or no sound reaches her ears. The only thing she can do is hug herself. Her sense of touch seems to be the only thing that hasn’t been taken away from her.

But how? And by whom?

She doesn’t know.

Is this punishment for what she tried to— what she _almost did_ to Steven?

She doesn’t know either.

She doesn’t want to think Pearl and Garnet can be this cruel to an old friend, but it’s been over five thousand years plus who knows how long since the last time she was unbubbled.

Things change.

 _People_ change, even Gems.

* * *

 

Bismuth doesn’t know how long she’s been floating in the void.

Days?

Years?

Millennia?

Doesn’t matter. The passage of time is immaterial to Gems.

Sometimes she wonders if this is what Harvesting feels like, but a quick pinch on her arm tells her that her hard-light body is real enough to exist. But then, she starts wondering if her body is just another hallucination from the void. She gets a lot of those now: seeing a familiar face emerge from the darkness, feeling familiar hands snaking around her body, hearing familiar voices in her head besides her own.

They tell her a lot of things, the voices: Sweet assurances of love and devotion. Hateful things borne of anger and deception. At some point, who said what blurs together— her memories swirling into a singular mess— and she hears scornful prejudice from the Pearl kissing her jawline, and speeches about fusion and freedom from the lips of a diamond.

No.

Not real.

NOT REAL!!!

* * *

 

Bismuth doesn’t know how long she’s been floating in the void.

Days?

Years?

Millennia?

Doesn’t matter. Nothing matters anymore.

She’s grown weary of cycling through memories of friends and enemies alike, of perusing all the thoughts and emotions she’s ever had or currently has or will possibly have. She has lost count of how many times she’s oscillated from insanity to sanity, to insanity again.

She’s tired.

She just wants everything to _end._

She closes her eyes.

* * *

 

Bismuth doesn’t know how long she’s been floating in the void when she feels something hit her back.

(Probably just another hallucination.)

She feels it again.

(How annoying.)

And again.

And _again._

Bismuth opens her eyes, and sees little specks of light floating in front of her.

(Hallucination!) [ _No. This is something else._ ]

Something hits her back again. A lot of somethings. Hard. Sharp. Prickly. Like needles piercing her skin.

She tries to turn around to see, but no matter how much she moves and flails, she can’t seem to reposition herself.

More light specks appear in front of her. More somethings pelt and poke her back.

(Ah, if only she could have eyes behind her head...) [ _Wait, aren’t we a Gem?_ ] {  **I must be really so far gone now, to be talking to myself like this.** }

She stretches her neck with shapeshifting, twisting it around until...

Light blinds her.

It takes some time for her eyes to adjust to the sudden brightness, but when she can finally open her eyes again, she sees it:

A comet covered in ice.

And at the far-off distance, a tiny dot of a star.

She smacks herself for her stupidity. Of course she’s been in space all this time!

She stretches an arm towards the comet, hoping she has enough shapeshifting juice to reach it.

Hoping to catch a ride.

Hoping that star in the distance is the Earth’s sun.

Hoping the comet will pass close enough so she can get back to the planet.

After all, she needs to exact revenge on the former friends who threw her out in space.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: this prompt fill is set in the same timeline as **Lost In Space**
> 
>   
> 


End file.
